St. Andrews -

ST. ANDREWS â€“ The temporary aquarium at the Huntsman Marine Science Centre, in St. Andrews, closes its doors for the season Sunday, but not before the last event of the summer, Miniature Creatures of the Ocean, at 11;30 a.m. Saturday, immediately following the seal feeding.
Earlier in the year, Dr. Gerhard Pohle and Lou Van Guelpen, scientists from the Huntsmanâ€™s Atlantic Reference Centre (ARC), fascinated visitors with their presentation on bizarre creatures of the deep. This time, itâ€™s the other end of the scale under the microscope, as the public will be able to see some of the fascinating creatures at the other end of the scale. There will be a chance to see live plankton, and learn more about the small life forms that are so abundant in the Bay of Fundy and are so crucial in the Bayâ€™s complex ecosystem.
Visitors will learn about the different kinds of plankton, some of which always stay as plankton, whereas others are simply adapted to survive as plankton as they grow up to be much bigger creatures.
The end of the season will also be the last opportunity to see some of the images of the progress on the new $8 million discovery centre, which opens in summer 2011. The fund-raising campaign, which has a target of $2 million, is currently sitting at $1.21 million. The federal and provincial governments each contributed $2.5 million towards the project.
For more information, contact the Huntsman at 529-1200, or email huntsman@huntsmanmarine.ca